My Dying Flame
by Suzakus Wings
Summary: One look was all it took for his crimson eyes to register that something was wrong. She fainted quickly, heated up constantly, and for some reason she was attracted to him. There MUST have been something faulty about her. Hieioc Hieixoc


Title: My Dying Flame

Author: Suzakus Wings

Chapter 1: One Look, One Second

Dedication:

Disclaimer:

A/N:

The group of young adults gasped and marveled with awe at the sight before then. Their usual table was full of a plethora of food. Beef curry, baked chicken, friend noodles, sashimi, grilled fish, egg fu yung, shrimp tempura, minute chicken with caked noodles, Gau gee, and chicken with black mushrooms, along with three pots of rice, lay neatly on the large table. The image of the neatly placed food sitting elegantly in their dishes, accompanied by sauces, spices, and other edible decorations was a fantastic treat for the eyes.

A glorious aroma wafted through the air, and as if a subtle breeze had purposefully hit it, traveled to the noses belonging to those in the group, affecting those with demon blood more than others. Each and every one of them. The human and part demon males sniffed at the food, their mouths watering more and more as they padded to the table in their socks.

The tallest of them all, an orange-haired man, smiled broadly and drooled in such an unsubtle way. "Thanks Yukina! This stuff looks delicious!"

The blue haired maiden in question tilted her head as the wind lightly played with her dress. "Kazuma-San, I-I didn't make this food," she confessed honestly, not wanting to take someone else's credit.

"Yeah you idiot. She was with us this whole time at the beach. Duh!" his competitor in forming the next Niagra Falls responded. A smirk played at his lips as he wiped away his slobber before it went back in the way it flooded out and he choked on it.

Kazuma Kuwabara, senior in high school, owner of the Rei Ken, and admirer of the ice maiden Yukina, flipped the bird. How mature. "Look Urameshi, she could have made it before we left, okay!"

"And what, bro? The grub magically floated from the Mary Poppins oven and put themselves in individual dishes and set itself on the table with all of these decorations?" Shizuru, Kuwabara's older sister commented. She flipped some of her hair off her shoulder and shook her head. "Idiot."(1)

Blushing, the Rei Ken user turned from the table to the group. "Well, maybe Genkai-"

"Just give it up you oaf." Crimson eyes rolled as the "oaf" made a fool of himself. Nothing new, but he did have determination. That counted for something. . . Right?

"Look here, shrimp!" Kuwabara rolled back his sleeves. "Yukina could have made it, but since she didn't let's drop this. I won't embarrass you in front of all the girls." He turned away and crossed his arms over her chest.

Or maybe not. . .

"Wow," Yusuke, the black Hired, chocolate-eyed young man mused. He poked at the tall oaf all over the place. "Got a hold of that mean little temper now, didja?" he laughed. Amazingly, the man on the receiving end of the poke had lasted at least 15 seconds before his temper exploded upon Raizen's heir.

His face was as red as a turnip and smoke quite literally steamed from his ears and nose, much like one of those bulls from an American cartoon. "DAMMIT URAMESHI WOULD YOU QUIT POKING ME!!" He was about to chase the half demon but was stopped by a cup being thrown at his head. He fell to the ground, completely surprised. "W-what? Who did that!?" he demanded.(2)

The answer came from the small, old woman, sitting down a few feet away from the table, sipping tea."You idiots. Keep your mouths shut for once," her raspy, aged voice demanded of the so called "idiots."

"Oh my! Shizuka-san!" The ice maiden ran to a pair of legs in baggy green pants and white socks sticking up from the arm of the couch on the other side of the dinning/living room.

Everyone but the old woman turned their heads to see what in the world Yukina was so worried about. She kneeled down to the person attached to said legs and put her arms on their shoulder. It was hard to see who it was on the sofa from the particular angle they were all in, so the group just had to wait.

"Shizuka-san," the healer laughed and the distress was wiped from her face. "You frightened me by the state you seemed to be in. I thought maybe you'd been tortured by Genkai-sama."

A low, feminine chuckle. "Tortured would be just a tad bit harsh, Yuki-chan. Emphasis on the _'just a tad bit,'_" she answered humorously. So this mystery person now had a name, a voice, and experience. But just who was she? Another laugh..This Shizuka person raised a gray-sleeved arm and grabbed hold onto the back of the couch. As the mystery person rose and jumped off of the couch, it was obvious by now that this was a girl.

Her hair was long and wavy, and a light, almost faded shade of pink. Her bangs just barely passed her brows and didn't dare hide her vibrant hazel eyes. The orbs were full of life and energy. The skin she flaunted seemed to be kissed lightly by the sun. The shade of brown was light. Healthy. And her clothes, while strange to them, seemed to fit her. Her pants, as was mentioned, were baggy and green, slightly fringed at the bottom. Upon it were two large, closed pockets on the sides of her knees and smaller, open ones on her hips. She wore a brown leathered belt with a glaring, red-eyed black bear to hold up the slightly baggy pants just below her navel. Her shirt was a navy-blue turtleneck with no sleeves.

Over that was a strange, gray jacket, which was held up by a green jewel snugly fit into a gold brooch. The piece of cloth never reached her shoulders, brushing her skin maybe three inches below that, and a ruffled cloth hung from the back of the stone, holding the gray piece of cloth together. Last, to complete the ensemble, was a gold ring with a golden diamond shape hanging from it on her left ear. The light reflected off it for a millisecond. Somehow, the boys knew those two pieces of jewelry were important. She was pretty. Her well endowed C-cup also helped.

"It's a Genkai clone!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"A Shura wannabe!" Yusuke added.

"You two are constantly stultifying yourselves," the crimson eyed "shrimp replied.

"You know, three eyes, if I knew what the hell you were talking about, I'd probably smack you one," the former Tantei glared and snorted.

"Hmph. If you could catch me, detective," Hiei smirked, amusement evident in his voice and eyes.

"Oh, that's it Hiei!" The two began to throw comebacks to and fro. Their usual Word War.(3)

Kuwabara scratched his head. "Okay, Kurama. I know some big words, but whatever that _'s'_ word was that the shrimp said isn't in my vocabulary. So. . . What the hecks it mean?" He turned his dark eyes to their red-haired gentleman and genius.

"Stultifying. To make, or cause to appear, foolish or ridiculous," the new woman they'd just recently met replied.

Surprised eyes turned to her. She smiled in return.

"What? I just learned the Dictionary dot com definition today." Her mini fang was revealed through her toothy grin. Her eyes widened a bit. "Oh, yeah! My name is Shizuka. Nice to meeeee-" she seemed to get dizzy and collapsed to the ground, her eyes dazed and circular.(4)(5)(6)

Yukina smiled as the girl fell to her knees then slumped down to her chin, her arms spread out at her sides and her butt in the air. "Uwawawa."

Kurama, the redheaded college student, walked swiftly over to the girl and felt her forehead with the back of his palm.

"Hey, fox boy. She gonna be okay?" Yusuke asked, his brown, soulful eyes questioning.

He nodded. "She seems to have a pretty high fever, but with some rest she should be fine." His emerald eyes scanned her in confusion. She smelled like ash and forest mixed with some of Genkai's scent and something spicy. Heat radiated off her body. Trapped. Trying to get free. Fighting against it's tamer.

Yukina placed her palm against the strange girl's forehead. "Kurama-sama. If I guide you, would you please carry Shizuka-san to her room. He nodded his agreement. "Thank you," she smiled.

Kuwabara pouted. "I could have carried her, too!" he mumbled. The fire koorime Hiei rolled his eyes, trying to contain his anger with clenched teeth. Yusuke just smacked the back of his friend and long time rival's head with "baka" rolling off his tongue in the process. This mus have pleased the fire koorime, seeing as he smirked.

"You don't want to do that, Kurama. Just place her on the couch. She would prefer to be surrounded by idiots than silence when she awoke," the temple owner advised, sipping her tea. Her eyes closed. "Besides. The little runt will be starved when she awakes."

Kurama picked her up gently and placed her on the couch in obedience. "Are you sure, Genkai-san?" His eyebrow was arched questioningly. If it were him, he'd be annoyed, to say the least, if he awoke with this lot as his alarm clock. He shuddered at the thought. Hopefully nothing like that would ever happen in this life. . . Or the next for that matter.

Genkai nodded, pouring more steaming, Green Tea into her cup. "Don't worry about it, red. You'll find out sooner or later." she looked at the food, which probably cooled a bit due to the time they spent arguing and worrying over the girl in question. "Why don't you all stop flapping your gums and just eat," she said. An attempt to change subjects maybe? Oh well. They were to hungry to disagree.

"Hey, you don't have to tell us twice, Grandma!" Yusuke's cocky voice worded everyone's view on the subject, however with more color. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. His veteran eyes eyeing the food with a growl rumbling from his stomach.

"At least it ain't Urameshi's noodles!" Kuwabara said with a large grin.

His rival turned ally glared. A warning growl erupted from his throat before he could stop it. "What was that? You still haven't payed for the last four times you came to the shop!" His friend laughed and removed his wallet from his left pocket. Yusuke blinked. "Is that where you keep your wallet?"

Kazuma looked from his wallet to his pocket, then back again. "Yeah. So what if it?" he asked defensively. He removed some cash from the long pocket inside the brown, leather, folding rectangle.

"No reason. . . It's just that. . ."

"Any skilled thief could easily remove it." The two conversing boys jumped in surprise to find the previously passed-out-cold female now sitting at the table, her legs tucked under her. She had chopsticks in her right hand, a bowl full of rice in the other, and now a rather large black mushroom in her mouth. "Ah, yum! I'm such an awesome chef!" she declared with a cute smile on her face. Her cheeks were tinted a light shade of pink from the feeling of overwhelming joy. It had been a while since she got to test her culinary abilities. She opened her eyes and looked at the people she'd originally cooked for with wooden chopsticks still in her mouth. "What?" They were staring at her strangely. Minus one ice apparition and a fire youkai who was eating her food, which, hopefully, he liked.

"Y-you're awake?" The brilliant mind of Yusuke Urameshi, former Spirit Detective, demon/human-hybrid, and current ramen shop owner, decided to spit the completely obvious words from his mouth.

Green eyes analyzed her body. There was color in her cheeks. However he couldn't tell if it was thanks to her fever or her joy. She moved and worked her joints with no problems, her emotional state seemed stable, and her eyes were once again bright and a light brown-yellow shade. More yellow than brown, but it wasn't too uncommon. "Should you really be moving so soon?" He couldn't help it. The young girl's miraculous recovery astounded him. This action, however, only worried him more.

She waved her hand and winked at the former thief. "No worries, Suichi-san. Hmm. Maybe Kurama-san would be better?"

They were all sitting around the table now, Yukina seated on Shizuka's left, Kuwabara on her left, Botan, then Yusuke, Keiko, Hiei, and Kurama on Shizuka's right and Hiei's left. Genkai got up and walked out.

Shizuka watched her walk out and smiled lightly. "Good night, Obaa-san."(7)

Yusuke eyed her wearily. As soon as Genkai's SE had faded away, her verbally pounced on her. "Okay, who the hell are you? What are you doing here? How do you know the old hag? And where the hell did you get these recipes? Could you give them to me, cuz they're fantastic!" He blurted out. His expression was solemn, yet the mood was light. He wanted information, but he didn't really want her to feel uncomfortable.

The females salmon hair bounced as she laughed harmoniously. "Obaa-san was right. I do like you, Urameshi Yusuke-san." Her smile literally lit up the room. All but the fire demon seemed to be relaxed around her now. Her presence was calming.

Scratching the back of his head, the young half demon gave her his usually cocky smile. "Wow. The old bat said that about me? I feel so honored." Another smirk. "And it's just Yusuke. No need for formalities. You related to the crone or somethin'?" He had a slight street accent. For that, Shizuka was glad. She didn't really like people with completely perfect grammar. Maybe that's why she sometimes liked to use Pidgeon.(8)

"Right. I wish Obaa-san was here to help me explain, but here it is." They all, yes all, although not purposefully, leaned forward a bit to hear the confession. "Genkai is my grandmother."

"You're what!?" Keiko, Botan, Yusuke, and Kuwabara questioned aloud. Kurama and Hiei's eyes widened at the newfound fact. They glanced at each other suspiciously, then back to her. She didn't act like the old Spiritual master in the least bit. She seemed much more pleasant than the woman who'd abandoned them for meditation not to long ago.

She smiled once again. It was a knowing smile. As if she knew a secret and wouldn't tell them. Her eyes wandered to Yukina. Obviously they had a good relationship, seeing as they exchanged this secretive look. There was a twist of pain in the look, but it was a fleeting look that lasted for only a second. However, a second is all it takes to change the course of an entire existence.

Crimson eyes narrowed. Eyes similar to his, kinder and larger, held regret and sorrow as they looked into hazel irises. He knew something was wrong. _'But what?'_

It took only one look. One second.

(1)**"And what, bro? The grub magically floated from the Mary Poppins oven and put themselves in individual dishes and set itself on the table with all of these decorations?" **

You know, because Marry Poppins' bag just kept going and going? And all that food would have been in the oven around the same time to keep warm. Impossible with all those dishes my dear little Shizuka cooked, ne?

(2) Oh my gosh! There's a story behind this poking thing. I'll post it in my profile later on If enough people want to know it.

(3)** "Oh, that's it Hiei!" The two began to throw comebacks to and fro. Their usual Word War.**

"Word War." Like World War. Never mind. Heh. I'm dumb.

(4) **"I just learned the Dictionary dot com definition today."**

I do not own Dictionary dot com, but I do use it for my vocab words.

(5)**"Oh, yeah! My name is Shizuka. Nice to meeeee-" she seemed to get dizzy and collapsed to the ground, her eyes dazed and circular.**

By this I mean those spiny eyes that look something like this. . You know, dizzy eyes? "Uwawawa."

(6) **"Oh, yeah! My name is Shizuka."**

Shizu- _"Quiet"_

Ka- _"summer" _or "smell, perfume"

I decided on Shizuka's name because she has a secret(quiet) ability, hiding deep within her. I also chose Summer because that is the season they meet her for the first time. I don't know if it's true, but the story is set a couple months after Yusuke comes back from Tourin (Raizen's land). During those shorts where they go visit Genkai, Yusuke is working in the noodle stand, thing. And Hiei comes back, too. Yay!

(7) **"Good night, Obaa-san."**

Obaa-san is grandmother. Oba-san is aunt. Yusuke often calls Genkai Grandma, but Shizuka's term for her is legit.

(8) **"Maybe that's why she sometimes liked to use Pigeon?"**

When the Japanese came to Hawaii, they were practically slaves. They ended up making their own language. Pidgeon. It's a mix between English and Hawaiian I think. All I know is that a LOT of people in Hawaii have the habit of speaking Pidgeon. It isn't really an actual language as much as it is a slang, in my view anyway. I'm Hawaiian, but I speak proper English, even though I've lived here since I was in my mother's womb before she was my age. Haha.


End file.
